THE 

POPULAR  SCIENCE 
MONTHLY. 


OCTOBEK,   1903, 


THE   DECOKATIVE   ART   OF   THE   NORTH   AMERICAN 

INDIANS. 

BY  PROFESSOR  FRANZ  BOAS, 

COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY. 

r  MHE  extended  investigations  on  primitive  decorative  art  which  have 
-™  been  made  during  the  last  twenty  years  have  clearly  shown  that 
almost  everywhere  the  decorative  designs  used  by  primitive  man  do 
not  serve  purely  esthetic  ends,  but  that  they  suggest  to  his  mind 
certain  definite  concepts.  They  are  not  only  decorations,  but  sym 
bols  of  definite  ideas. 

Much  has  been  written  on  this  subject ;  and  for  a  time  the  opinion 
prevailed  that  wherever  an  ornament  is  explained  as  a  representation 
of  a  certain  object,  its  origin  has  been  in  a  realistic  representation  of 
that  object,  and  that  it  has  gradually  assumed  a  more  and  more  con 
ventionalized  form,  which  often  has  developed  into  a  purely  geometrical 
motive.*  On  the  other  hand,  Gushing  and  Holmes  have  pointed  out 
the  important  influence  of  material  and  technique  in  the  evolution  of 
design,  and,  following  Semper,  have  called  attention  to  the  frequent 
transfer  of  designs  developed  in  one  technique  to  another.  Thus, 
according  to  Semper,  forms  developed  in  wood  architecture  were 
imitated  in  stone,  and  Gushing  and  Holmes  showed  that  textile  de 
signs  are  imitated  on  pottery. 

The  origin  of  certain  designs  from  technical  forms  is  now  recog 
nized  as  an  important  factor,  and  it  must  therefore  be  assumed  that 
in  many  cases  the  interpretation  has  been  read  into  the  design.  The 
existence  of  this  tendency  has  recently  been  pointed  out  by  H. 

*  See  A.  C.   Haddon,  '  Evolution  in  Art.' 
VOL.  LXIII. — 31. 


482 


POPULAR    SCIENCE   MONTHLY 


FIG.  la     ESKIMO  IN  ORDINARY  DRESS. 


DECORATIVE   ART    OF    THE   INDIANS. 


483 


Schurtz*  and  by  Professor  A.  D.  F.  Hamlin,t  who  has  treated  in  a 
series  of  essays  the  evolution  of  decorative  motives. 

In  speaking  of  the  process  of  conventionalization  or  degeneration 
of  realistic  motives,  Professor  Hamlin  says:  "Indeed,  this  degenera 
tion  may  reasonably  be  accepted  as  suggesting  that  the  geometric 
forms  which  it  approaches  were  already  in  habitual  use  when  it  be 
gan,  and  that  the  direction  of  the  degeneration  was  determined  by  a 


v. 

1';    '••"       ""' 


i(xv% 

FIG.  16.    SHAMANISTIC  COAT  OF  ESKIMO. 

preexisting  habit  or  '  expectancy  '  (as  Dr.  Colley  March  calls  it)  of 
geometric  form  acquired  in  skeuomorphic  decoration  "  J  (i.  e.,  in  a 
form  developed  from  technical  motives).  At  another  place  §  he 
says:  "After  having  undergone  in  its  own  home  such  series  of  modi 
fications,  the  motive  becomes  known  to  the  artists  of  some  race  or 

*  H.  Schurtz,  '  Urgeschichte  der  Kultur,'  p.  540. 

f  The  American  Architect  and  Building  News,  1898. 

$Ibid.,  p.  93. 

§  Ibid.,  p.  35. 


310330 


484  POPULAR    SCIENCE   MONTHLY. 

civilization  through  the  agency  either  of  commerce  or  of  conquest. 
It  is  carried  across  seas  and  lands,  and  in  new  hands  receives  still 
another  dress  in  combinations  still  more  incongruous  with  its  orig 
inal  significance.  It  is  no  longer  a  symbol,  but  an  arbitrary  orna 
ment,  wholly  conventional,  modified  to  suit  the  taste  and  the  arts  of 
the  foreigners  who  have  adopted  it.  In  many  cases  it  undergoes  modi 
fication  in  two  or  more  directions,  resulting  in  divergent  developments, 
which  in  time  produce  as  many  distinct  motives — cousins,  as  it  were, 
of  each  other — each  of  which  runs  its  own  course  independently  of  the 
others.  This  phenomenon  we  may  call  '  divergence.'  A  common 
cause  of  divergence  is  the  tendency  to  assimilate  a  borrowed  motive 
to  some  indigenous  and  familiar  form,  usually  a  natural  object,  thus 
setting  up  a  new  method  of  treatment  quite  foreign  to  the  origin  of 
the  motive." 

I  intend  to  show  in  the  following  pages  that  the  same  processes, 
which  Professor  Hamlin  traces  by  historical  evidence  in  the  art  of  the 
civilized  peoples  of  the  old  world,  have  occurred  among  the  primitive 
tribes  erf  North  America.* 

Before  taking  up  this  subject,  I  wish  to  call  attention  to  a  peculiar 
difference  between  the  decorative  style  applied  in  ceremonial  objects 
and  that  employed  in  articles  of  every-day  use.  We  find  a  considerable 
number  of  cases  which  demonstrate  the  fact  that,  on  the  whole,  the 
decoration  of  ceremonial  objects  is  much  more  realistic  than  that  of 
ordinary  objects.  Thus  we  find  the  garments  for  ceremonial  dances 
of  the  Arapaho  covered  with  pictographic  representations  of  animals, 
their  sacred  pipe  covered  with  human  and  other  forms,  while  their 
painted  blankets  for  ordinary  wear  are  generally  adorned  with  geo 
metrical  designs.  Among  the  Thompson  Indians  ceremonial  blan 
kets  are  also  covered  with  pictographic  designs,  while  ordinary  wearing- 
apparel  and  basketry  are  decorated  with  very  simple  geometrical 
motives.  On  the  stem  of  a  shaman's  pipe  we  find  a  series  of  picto- 
graphs,  while  an  ordinary  pipe  shows  geometric  forms.  Even  among 
the  eastern  Eskimo,  whose  decorative  art,  on  the  whole,  is  very  rudi 
mentary,  a  shamanistic  coat  has  been  found  which  has  a  number  of 
realistic  motives,  while  the  ordinary  dress  of  the  same  tribe  shows  no 
trace  of  such  decoration  (Fig.  1).  Perhaps  the  most  striking  ex 
amples  of  this  kind  are  the  woven  designs  of  the  Huichol  Indians  of 


*  The  examples  and  illustrations  here  represented  are  taken,  unless  other 
wise  stated,  from  specimens  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  The 
information  and  material  used  were  collected  by  Dr.  Roland  B.  Dixon,  Pro 
fessor  Livingston  Farrand,  Dr.  A.  L.  Kroeber,  Dr.  Berthold  Laufer.  Dr.  Carl 
Lumholtz,  Mr.  H.  H.  St.  Clair,  Mr.  James  Teit  and  Dr.  Clark  Wissler,  all  of 
whom  have  contributed  to  the  systematic  study  of  decorative  art  undertaken 
by  the  museum. 


DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    INDIANS.  485 

Mexico.  All  their  ceremonial  weavings  are  covered  with  more  or 
less  realistic  designs,  while  all  their  ordinary  wearing-apparel  pre 
sents  geometrical  motives.  In  fact,  the  style  of  the  two  is  so  different 
that  it  hardly  seems  to  belong  to  the  same  tribe  (Fig.  2).  The  same 
phenomenon  may  be  observed  outside  of  America,  as  is  demonstrated  by 
the  difference  in  style  between  the  shaman's  coat  and  the  ordinary 
coat  of  the  Gold  of  the  Amur  Eiver  (Fig.  3).  We  may  perhaps  recog 
nize  the  same  tendency  in  the  style  of  decoration  of  modern  dwelling- 
rooms  and  in  that  of  public  buildings.  The  designs  on  the  stained 
glass  of  house-windows  are  usually  arranged  in  geometrical  forms; 
those  of  churches  represent  pictures.  The  wall  decorations  of  houses 
are  wall  papers  of  more  or  less  geometrical  character;  those  of  halls  de 
voted  to  public  uses  are  generally  adorned  with  symbolic  pictures. 


FIG.  2.    WOVEN  DESIGNS  OF  THE  HUICHOL  INDIANS.    (After  Dr.  Carl  Lumholtz.) 

This  difference  in  the  treatment  of  ceremonial  and  common  objects 
shows  clearly  that  the  reason  for  the  conventionalization  of  motives 
can  not  be  solely  a  technical  one,  for  if  so,  it  would  act  in  one  case 
as  well  as  in  the  other.  In  ceremonial  objects  the  ideas  represented 
are  more  important  than  the  decorative  effect,  and  it  is  intelligible 
that  the  resistance  to  conventionalism  may  be  strong;  although  in 
some  cases  the  very  sacredness  of  the  idea  represented  might  induce  the 
artist  to  obscure  his  meaning  intentionall}-,  in  order  to  keep  the  signifi 
cance  of  the  design  from  profane  eyes.  It  may,  therefore,  be  assumed 
that,  if  a  tendency  to  conventionalization  exists,  it  will  manifest  itself 


486 


POPULAR    SCIENCE   MONTHLY. 


differently,  even  among  the  same  tribe,  according  to  the  preponderance 
of  the  decorative  or  descriptive  value  of  the  design. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  general  prevalence  of  symbolic  significance 
in  ordinary  decoration  shows  that  this  is  an  important  aspect  of 
decorative  art,  and  a  tendency  to  retain  the  realistic  form  might  be 

___  expected,  provided  its  origin  were 

from  realistic  forms.  If,  therefore, 
the  whole  decorative  art  of  some 
tribes  shows  no  trace  of  realism, 
it  may  well  be  doubted  whether 
their  ordinary  decorative  designs 
were  originally  realistic. 

The  history  of  decorative  design 
can  best  be  investigated  by  analy 
zing  the  styles  of  form  and  inter 
pretation  prevailing  over  a  limited 
area.  If  the  style  of  art  were  en 
tirely  indigenous  in  a  given  tribe, 
and  developed  either  from  conven 
tionalization  of  realistic  designs  or 
from  the  elaboration  of  technical 
motives,  we  should  expect  to  find  a 
different  style  and  different  motives 
in  each  tribe.  The  general  customs 
and  beliefs  might  be  expected  to 
determine  the  subjects  chosen  for 
decoration,  or  the  ideas  that 
are  read  into  the  technical  de 
signs. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  native 
art  of  North  America  shows  a  very 
different  state  of  affairs.  All  over 
the  Qreat  Plains  and  in  a  large 
portion  of  the  western  plateaus  an  art  is  found  which,  notwithstanding 
local  peculiarities,  is  of  a  uniform  type.  It  is  characterized  by  the 
application  of  colored  triangles  and  quadrangles  in  both  painting  and 
embroidery  in  a  manner  which  is  found  in  no  other  part  of  the  world. 
The  slight  differences  of  styles  which  occur  are  well  exemplified  in 
the  style  of  painted  rawhide  bags  or  envelopes,  the  so-called  '  par- 
fleches.'  Mr.  St.  Glair  has  observed  that  the  Arapaho  are  in  the 
habit  of  laying  on  the  colors  rather  delicately,  in  areas  of  moderate 
size,  and  of  following  out  a  general  arrangement  of  their  motives 
in  stripes;  that  the  Shoshone,  on  the  other  hand,  like  large  areas  of 


FIG.  3a.  ORDINARY  COAT  OF  THE  GOLD 
OP  THE  AMUR  RIVER.  (After  Dr.  Berthold 
Laufer.) 


DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    INDIANS. 


487 


solid  colors,  bordered  by  heavy  blue  bands,  and  an  arrangement  in 
which  a  central  field  is  set  off  rather  prominently  from  the  rest  of  the 
design  (Fig.  4).  This  difference  is  so  marked  that  it  is  easy  to  tell 
a  Shoshone  parfleche  that  has  found  its  way  to  the  Arapaho  from  par- 


FIG.  36.    COAT  OF  A  SHAMAN  OF  THE  GOLD  OF  THE  AMUR  RIVER. 

fleches  of  Arapaho  manufacture.  In  other  cases  the  -most  character 
istic  difference  consists  in  the  place  on  the  parfleche  to  which  the  de 
sign  is  applied.  The  Arapaho  and  the  Shoshone  never  decorate  the 
sides  of  a  bag,  only  its  flaps,  while  the  tribes  of  Idaho  and  Montana 
always  decorate  the  sides.  Another  peculiarity  of  Arapaho  parfleche- 


488 


POPULAR    SCIENCE   MONTHLY. 


painting,  as  compared  to  that  of  the  Shoshone,  is  the  predilection  for 
two  right-angled  triangles  standing  on  the  same  line,  their  right 
angles  facing  each  other — a  motive  of  common  occurrence  all  over  the 
southern  part  of  the  Plains  and  in  the  southwestern  territories;  while 
the  Shoshone  generally  place  these  triangles  with  facing  acute  angles. 


ARAPAHO.  SHOSHONE. 

FIG.  4.    PAINTED  RAWHIDE  BAGS.    (After  A.  L.  Kroeber  and  H.  H.  St.  Clair.) 

A  detailed  study  of  the  art  brings  out  many  minor  differences  of  this 
sort,  although  the  general  type  is  very  uniform. 

Certain  types  of  designs  are  so  much  alike  that  they  might  belong 
to  one  tribe  as  well  as  to  another.  A  series  of  moccasins  of  the  Shoshone, 
Sioux  and  Arapaho  (Fig.  5)  will  serve  as1  a  good  example.  The 
characteristic  forms  of  all  of  these  are  a  cross  on  the  uppers,  con- 


DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE    INDIANS. 


489 


nected  with  a  bar  on  the  instep,  from  which  arise  at  each  end  two 
short  lines.  Tlres^  $esj»gns  are  so  complex  that  evidently  they  must 
have  had  a  common  origin.  It  is  of  great  importance  to  note  that 
nevertheless  the  explanations  given  by  the  various  tribes  are  quite 
different.  The  design  is  interpreted  by  'the  Arapaho  as  the  morning 
star;  the  bar  on  the  instep,  as  the  horizon;  the  short  lines,  as  the 
twinkling  of  the  star.  To  the  mind  of  the  Sioux  the  design  conveys 
the  idea  of  feathers,  when  applied  to  a  woman's  moccasin;  when 
found  on  a  man's  moccasin,  it  symbolizes  the  sacred  shield  suspended 
from  tent-poles.  The  identical  design  was  explained  by  the  Shoshone 


ABO 

FIG.  5.   MOCCASINS;  A.  SHOSHONE;  B.  Sioux;   C.  Sioux  AND  ARAPAHO. 

as  signifying  the  sun  (the  circle)  and  its  rays;  but  also  the  thunder- 
bird,  the  cross-arms  of  the  cross  evidently  being  the  wings;  the  part 
nearest  the  toe,  the  tail,  and  the  upper  part,  the  neck  with  two 
strongly  conventionalized  heads  attached.  If  these  are  the  ideas  con 
veyed  by  this  design  to  the  weavers,  it  is  clear  that  they  must  have 
developed  after  the  invention  or  introduction  of  the  design;  that  the 
design  is  primary,  the  idea  secondary,  and  that  the  idea  has  nothing 
to  do  with  the  historical  development  of  the  design  itself. 

It  may  be  well  to  give 'a  few  additional  examples  of  such  similarity 
of  design  and  difference  of  symbolism.     One  of  the   typical  designs 


49° 


POPULAR    SCIENCE   MONTHLY. 


of  this  area  is  a  cross  to  the  ends  of  which  deeply  notched  squares  are 
attached  (Fig.  6).  Dr.  Kroeber*  received  the  following  explanation 
of  this  design  from  an  Arapaho :  the  diamond  in  the  center  represents 
a  person;  the  four  forked  ornaments  surrounding  it  are  buffalo  hoofs 

or  tracks.     Dr.  Wissler  found  the 

)  UMi^fcfe**  design  on  a  pair  of  woman's  leg 

gings  of  the  Sioux.  In  this  case  the 
diamond-shaped  center  of  the  de 
sign  represents  the  breast  of  a  tur 
tle;  the  green  lines  forming  the 
cross  indicate  the  four  points  of 
the  compass ;  the  forked  ornaments 
symbolize  forks  of  trees  struck  by 
hailstones,  which  are  indicated  by 
small  white  rectangles.  Mr.  St. 
Glair  came  across  the  same  design 
among  the  Shoshone,  where  it  was 
found  on  a  cowhide  bag.  The 
central  diamond  was  interpreted 
as  the  sun  and  clouds ;  the  notched 
designs  were  explained  as  moun 
tain-sheep  hoofs.  There  is  a  cer 
tain  similarity  in  this  case  between 
the  explanations  given  by  the  Arap 
aho  and  those  of  the  Shoshone, 
while  the  Sioux  connect  ideas  of 
a  different  type  with  the  design. 

Such  differences  of  interpreta 
tion  are  also  found  on  painted  de 
signs.  The  Shoshone  sometimes 
imagine  they  see  a  battle  scene  in 
the  squares  and  triangles  of  their 
parfleche  designs.  The  square  in 
the  center  of  Fig.  7  was  explained  to  Mr.  St.  Clair  as  an  enclosure 
in  which  the  enemy  was  kept  by  a  besieging  party,  represented  by  the 
marginal  squares.  The  narrow  central  line  is  the  trail  by  which  the 
enemy  made  good  his  escape.  Many  others  represent  geographical  fea 
tures,  such  as  mountains  and  valleys.  Such  geographical  ideas  are 
represented  on  some  Arapaho  parfleches,  while  others  exhibit  a  more 
complex  symbolic  significance.  Battle  scenes,  however,  are  not  found 
in  interpretations  given  by  the  Arapaho. 

*  A.   L.   Kroeber,   '  The  Arapaho,'  Bulletin  American   Museum   of  Natural 
History,   Vol.    XVIII. 


FIG.  6.  LEGGING  WITH  BEAD  EMBROIDERY. 


DECORATIVE   ART    OF    THE    INDIANS. 


491 


The  similarity  of  complex  designs,  combined  with  dissimilarity 
of  interpretation,  justifies  a  comparison  of  simpler  forms.  These 
might  be  believed  to  have  originated  independently;  but  the  same 
ness  of  the  complex  forms  proves  that  their  component  elements  must 
have  had  a  common  origin,  or  at  least  have  been  assimilated  by 
the  same  forms.  One  of  the  striking  examples  of  this  kind  is  the 

cross.     Among  the  Arapaho  it 

signifies  almost  invariably  the 
morning  star.  To  the  mind  of 
the  Shoshone  it  conveys  the 
idea  of  barter.  The  Sioux 
recognizes  in  it  a  man  slain 
in  battle  and  lying  flat  on 
the  ground  with  arms  out 
stretched.  The  Thompson  Ind 
ians  of  British  Columbia  rec 
ognize  in  it  the  crossing  trails 
at  which  sacrifices  are  made. 
The  simple  straight  red 
lines  with  which  skin  bags  are 
decorated  are  another  good 
example.  A  specimen  was 
collected  by  Dr.  Kroeber 
among  the  Arapaho  (Figs. 
8a  and  8b)  in  which  he  ex 
plains  the  stripes  on  the 

beaded  design  on  the  narrow  sides  and  on  the  flaps  of  the  bag 
as  camp-trails;  the  shorter  transverse  stripes  intersecting  these  longi 
tudinal  lines,  as  ravines,  that  is,  camping-places.  On  the  front  of  the 
bag  the  horizontal  lines  of  quill-work,  which  resemble  the  lines  on 
buffalo-robes,  are  paths.  Bunches  of  feathers  on  these  lines  repre 
sent  buffalo-meat  hung  up  to  dry.  Adjoining  the  bead-work  are 
small  tin  cylinders  with  tufts  of  red  hair;  these  represent  pendants 
or  rattles  on  tents.  Mr.  St.  Clair  obtained  the  following  explanation 
of  a  Shoshone  bag  of  almost  identical  design :  The  porcupine-quill 
work  on  the  front  of  the  bag  represents  horse-trails.  The  red  horse 
hair  tassels  at  each  side  are  horses  stolen  by  people  of  one  village  from 
those  of  another,  the  villages  being  represented  by  the  bead-work  at 
the  sides  of  the  bag.  The  bead-work  on  the  flap  represents  the  owners 
of  the  horses  indicated  by  the  horse-hair  tassels  on  the  flap.  Among 
the  Sioux  the  same  design  is  used  in  the  puberty  ceremonial,  and 
symbolizes  the  path  of  life. 

It  must  not  be  believed  that  the  interpretation  of  a  certain  motive, 
or  even  of  a  complex  figure  when  used  by  the  members  of  one  tribe, 


FIG.  7.    SHOSHONE  PARFLECHE  DESIGN. 


492 


POPULAR    SCIENCE   MONTHLY. 


FIG.  S«.    SKIN  BAG  OF  THE  ARAPAHO.    (After  A.  L.  Kroeber.) 

is  always  the  same.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  number  of  ideas  ex 
pressed  by  it  is  often  quite  varied.  We  find,  for  instance,  the  obtuse 
triangle  with  enclosed  rectangle  (Fig.  4)  explained  by  the  Arapaho 

as  the  mythic  cave  from  which 
the  buffalo  issued,  as  cattle-tracks, 
as  a  mountain,  cloud,  brush  hut 
and  tent;  an  acute  triangle,  with 
small  triangles  attached  to  its 
base,  as  a  bird-tail,  frog,  tent  and 
bear-foot. 

Nevertheless  the  explanations 
given  by  various  tribes  show  pe 
culiar  characteristics  in  which 
they  differ  from  those  of  other 
tribes.  The  explanations  possess 
no  less  a  style  of  their  own  than 
the  art  itself.  Triangles  are  ex 
plained  as  tents  by  all  the  tribes, 
and  mountains  or  hills  form  a 
prominent  feature  of  their  de 
scriptions;  but  among  the  three 
tribes  mentioned  only  the  Sioux 
see  wounds,  battle  scenes  with 
moving  masses  of  men,  horses,  the 
pursuit  of  enemies,  the  flight  of 
FIG.  86.  SIDE  OF  ARAPAHO  BAG.  arrows,  in  their  conventional  de- 


DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE   INDIANS. 


493 


signs;  only  the  Shoshone  see  in  them  pictures  of  forts  and  stones  piled 
up  in  memory  of  battles;  only  the  Arapaho  recognize  in  them  prayers 
for  life  directed  to  the  morning  star. 

We  find,  therefore,  that  in  this  area  the  same  style  of  art  is  widely 
distributed,  while  the  style  of  explanation  differs  materially  among 
its  various  tribes. 

It  may  be  worth  while  to  review  briefly  the  distribution  of  the 
style  of  art  here  discussed.  On  the  whole,  it  is  confined  to  the  Plains 
Indians,  west  of  the  eastern  wooded  area.  It  would  seem  that  it  has 
been  carried  into  the  plateau  region  rather  recently,  where,  however, 


FIG.  9.    DECORATIVE  MOTIVES  OF  THE  PUEBLO 
INDIANS.    (After  Dr.  W.  F.  Fewkes.*) 


FIG.  10      WOVEN  BAG  OF  THE  XEZ  PERCES. 


it  has  affected  almost  all  the  tribes  east  of  the  Cascade  Eange  and  of  the 
Sierra  Xevada.  We  find  the  acute  triangle  with  small  supporting 
triangles,  and  the  obtuse  triangle  with  enclosed  rectangle,  in  the  char 
acteristic  arrangement  of  the  parfleches,  on  a  bag  of  the  Xez  Perces 
(Fig.  10)  collected  by  Dr.  Livingston  Farrand.  At  first  glance,  the  art 
of  the  Pueblos  seems  quite  different  from  the  one  that  we  are  discussing 
here;  but  I  believe  that  an  intimate  association  of  the  two  may  be 
traced.  The  old  pottery  described  by  Dr.  Fewkes,  for  instance,  shows 
a  number  of  the  peculiar  triangle  and  square  motives  which  are  so 
characteristic  of  the  art  of  the  Indians  of  the  Plains.  The  same  tri 
angle  with  supporting  lines,  the  same  triangle  with  the  enclosed 
square  (Fig.  10),  is  found  here.  It  seems  very  plain  to  my  mind  that 
the  transfer  of  this  art  from  pottery  to  embroidery  and  painting  on 
flat  surfaces  has  brought  about  the  introduction  of  the  triangular 
*  From  specimens  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum. 


494  POPULAR    SCIENCE   MONTHLY. 

and  rectangular  forms  which  are  the  prime  characteristic  of  this  type 
of  art. 

In  the  prehistoric  art  of  the  northern  plateaus,  in  California,  on 
the  North  Pacific  coast,  in  the  Mackenzie  Basin,  in  the  wooded  area 
of  the  Atlantic  coast,  we  find  styles  of  art  which  differ  from  the 
art  of  the  Plains,  and  which  have  much  less  in  common  with  Pueblo 
art.  Therefore  I  am  inclined  to  consider  the  art  of  the  Plains  Indians 
in  many  of  its  traits  as  developed  from  the  art  of  the  Pueblos.  I 
think  the  general  facts  of  the  culture  of  these  tribes  are  fairly  in 
accord  with  this  notion,  since  it  would  seem  that  the  complex  social 
and  religious  rites  of  the  southwest  gradually  become  simpler  and 
less  definite  as  we  proceed  northward.  If  this  opinion  regarding  the 
origin  of  the  art  of  the  Plains  is  correct,  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  tent  with  its  pegs  is  the  same  form  in  origin  as  the  rain- 
clouds  of  the  Pueblos,  so  that  the  scope  of  interpretations  of  the 
same  form  is  still  more  enlarged.  Under  these  conditions,  we  must 
conclude  that  the  interpretation  is  probably  secondary  throughout,  and 
has  become  associated  with  the  form  which  was  obtained  by  borrowing. 
With  this  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  the  skeuomorphic  origin 
of  the  triangular  design  from  basketry  motives,  which  has  been  so 
much  discussed  of  recent  years. 

The* so-called  '  quail-tip  '  design  of  California  is  another  example 
of  the  continuous  distribution  of  a  motive  over  a  wide  area,  the  oc 
currence  of  which  in  the  outlying  districts  must  be  due  to  borrowing. 
The  characteristic  feature  of  this  design,  which  occurs  in  the  basketry 
of  California  and  Oregon,  is  a  vertical  line,  suddenly  turning  outward 
at  its  end.  This  motive  occurs  on  both  twined  and  coiled  basketry,  and 
with  many  explanations.*  In  some  combinations  it  is  explained  as  the 
lizard's  foot  (Fig.  11,  a,  &),  in  others  as  the  pine  cone  or  the  moun 
tain  (Fig.  11,  c).  The  gradual  distribution  of  this  motive  over  a 
wide  area  jean  best  be  proved  in  this  case  by  a  comparison  with  the 
distribution  of  the  technique  in  which  it  is  applied.  The  design 
occurs  all  over  central  and  northern  California.  On  Columbia  Kiver 
it  is  found  on  the  Klickitat  baskets.  These  are  of  the  peculiar  imbri 
cated  basketry  which  is  made  from  this  point  on,  northward.  While 
the  designs  on  imbricated  basketry  found  in  British  Columbia  are  of 
a  peculiar  character,  the  Klickitat  baskets  of  the  same  make  (Fig.  11, 
d)  have  the  typical  California  designs  which  also  occur  on  the  twined 
bags  of  this  district  (Fig.  11,  e). 

Thus  we  find,  not  only  that  the  distribution  of  interpretations  and 
that  of  motives  do  not  coincide,  but  also  that  the  distribution  of  tech 
nique  does  not  agree  with  that  of  motives.  I  think  we  can  also  demon- 

*  Roland  B.  Dixon,  'Basketry  Designs  of  the  Indians  of  Northern  Cali 
fornia,'  Bulletin  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  XVII.,  pp.  2  ff. 


DECORATIVE    ART    OF    THE   INDIANS. 


495 


strate  that  the  limits  of  styles  of  interpretation  in  some  cases  overlap 
the  limits  of  styles  of  art.  We  have  seen  that  on  the  Plains  the  style 
of  art  covers  a  wider  area  than  the  style  of  interpretation.  It  would 
seem  that  in  other  regions  the  reverse  is  the  case.  For  instance,  the 
style  of  art  of  the  Xootka  tribes  differs  very  much  from  that  of  the 


'11 


FIG.  11.  BASKETS  FROM  THE  PACIFIC  COAST,  a,  6,  PIT  RIVER  CALIFORNIA  ;  c,  MAIDU, 
CALIFORNIA  ;  d,  KLICKITAT,  WASHINGTON  ;  e,  NEZ  PERCES,  IDAHO,  (a,  b  and  c  after  Dr.  Ro 
land  B.  Dixon.) 

Kwakiutl.  Although  both  apply  animal  motives,  the  Nootka  use 
very  little  surface  decoration  consisting  of  combinations  of  charac 
teristic  curved  lines,  which  play  an  important  part  in  Kwakiutl  art 
and  which  serve  to  symbolize  various  parts  of  the  body.  Nootka  art  is 
more  realistic  and  at  the  same  time  cruder  than  Kwakiutl  art.  The 
ideas  expressed  in  the  art  of  both  tribes,  however,  are  practically  the 
same.  In  the  southwest  we  find  that  the  culture  of  the  Pueblos  has 


49<5 


POPULAR    SCIENCE   MONTHLY. 


deeply  influenced  the  neighboring  Athapascan  and  Sonoran  tribes, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  decoration  of  their  basketry  bears  a  close 
relation  to  that  of  Californian  basketry.  Although  I  do  not  know  the 
interpretations  of  designs  given  by  the  Apache,  Pima  and  Navajo,  it 
seems  probable  that  they  have  been  influenced  by  the  ideas  current 
among  the  Pueblos.  Among  the  Pueblos  themselves — and  in  these  I 
include  the  tribes  of  northern  Mexico,  such  as  the  Huichol — there  are 
well-marked  local  styles  of  technique  and  of  decoration,  and  a  general 


6  d 

FIG.  12.    TLINGIT  BASKETS.     (Specimens  in  the  possession  of  G.  T.  Emmons.) 

similarity  of  interpretation.  I  think  the  marked  prevalence  of  geo 
graphical  interpretations  found  among  the  Salish  tribes  of  British 
Columbia,  the  Shoshone  and  the  Arapaho  is  another  instance  of  distri 
bution  of  a  style  of  interpretation  over  an  area  including  divers  styles 
of  art. 

In  a  few  cases  it  seems  almost  self-evident,  from  a  consideration 
of  the  interpretations  themselves,  that  they  can  not  have  developed 
from  realistic  forms.  The  multiplicity  of  Arapaho  explanations  for 
the  triangles  which  I  mentioned  before  suggest  this.  According  to 
G.  T.  Emmons,*  the  zigzag  and  the  closely  allied  meander  in  Tlingit 
basketry  have  a  variety  of  meanings.  The  zigzag  may  represent  the 

*  '  The  Basketry  of  the  Tlingit/  Memoirs  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History,'  Vol.  III.,  pp.  263  ff. 


DECORATIVE   ART    OF   THE   INDIANS. <  49- 

tail  of  the  land-otter  (Fig.  12,  a),  the  hood  of  the  faveo  (Fig;  ;i2,'£),, 
the  butterfly  (Fig.  12,  c),  or,  when  given  a  rectangular  form  (Tig.  12, 
d),  waves  and  floating  objects.  It  is  evident,  in  view  of  the  data  here 
discussed,  that  these  must  be  different  interpretations  of  motives  of 
similar  origin. 

We  conclude  from  all  this  that  the  explanation  of  designs  is 
secondary  almost  throughout  and  due  to  a  late  association  of  ideas 
and  forms,  and  that  as  a  rule  a  gradual  transition  from  realistic 
motives  to  geometric  forms  did  not  take  place.  The  two  groups  of 
phenomena — interpretation  and  style — appear  to  be  independent.  We 
may  say  that  it  is  a  general  law  that  designs  are  considered  significant. 
Different  tribes  may  interpret  the  same  style  by  distinct  groups  of 
ideas.  On  the  other  hand,  certain  groups  of  ideas  may  be  spread  over 
tribes  whose  decorative  art  follows  different  styles,  so  that  the  same 
ideas  are  expressed  by  different  styles  of  art. 

We  may  express  this  fact  also  by  saying  that  the  history  of  the 
artistic  development  of  a  people,  and  the  style  that  they  have  developed 
at  any  given  time,  predetermine  the  method  by  which  they  express  their 
ideas  in  decorative  art;  and  that  the  type  of  ideas  that  a  people  is 
accustomed  to  express  by  means  of  decorative  art  predetermines  the 
explanation  that  will  be  given  to  a  new  design.  It  would  therefore 
seem  that  there  are  certain  typical  associations  between  ideas  and 
forms  which  become  established,  and  which  are  used  for  artistic  ex 
pression.  The  idea  which  a  design  expresses  at  the  present  time  is 
not  necessarily  a  clew  to  its  history.  It  seems  probable  that  idea  and 
style  exist  independently,  and  influence  each  other  constantly. 

For  the  present  it  remains  an  open  question,  why  the  tendency  to 
form  associations  between  certain  ideas  and  decorative  motives  is  so 
strong  among  all  primitive  people.  The  tendency  is  evidently  similar 
to  that  observed  among  children  who  enjoy  interpreting  simple  forms 
as  objects  to  which  the  form  has  a  slight  resemblance;  and  this, 
in  turn,  may  bear  some  relation  to  the  peculiar  character  of  realism 
in  primitive  art,  to  which  I  believe  Von  den  Steinen*  was  the  first  to 
draw  attention.  The  primitive  artist  does  not  attempt  to  draw  what 
he  sees,  but  merely  combines  what  are  to  his  mind  the  characteristic 
features  of  an  object,  without  regard  to  their  actual  space  relation  in 
the  visual  image.  For  this  reason  he  may  also  be  more  ready  than  we 
are  to  consider  some  characteristic  feature  as  symbolic  of  an  object, 
and  thus  associate  forms  and  objects  in  ways  that  seem  to  us  un 
expected. 

It  may  be  worth  while  to  mention  one  general  point  of  view  that 
is  suggested  by  our  remarks.  The  explanations  of  decorative  design 

*  '  Unter   den    Natur-volkern   Central-Brasiliens,'    pp.    250    ff . 
VOL.  LXIII. — 32. 


"POPULAR   SCIENCE   MONTHLY. 


:by:  the  Dative  suggest  that  to  his  mind  the  form  of  the  design 
'is  a' restilt  *of  attempts  to  represent  by  means  of  decorative  art  a  certain 
idea.  We  have  seen  that  this  can  not  be  the  true  history  of  the  design, 
but  that  it  probably  originated  in  an  entirely  different  manner. 
What  is  true  in  the  case  of  decorative  art  is  true  of  other  ethnic 
phenomena.  The  historical  explanation  of  customs  given  by  the  native 
is  generally  a  result  of  speculation,  not  by  any  means  a  true  historical 
explanation.  The  mythical  explanation  of  rites  and  customs  is  sel 
dom  of  historical  value,  but  is  generally  due  to  associations  formed 
in  the  course  of  events,  while  the  early  history  of  myths  and  rite  must 
be  looked  for  in  entirely  different  causes,  and  interpreted  by  different 
methods.  Native  explanations  of  laws,  of  the  origin  of  the  form 
of  society,  must  have  developed  in  the  same  manner,  and  therefore 
can  not  give  any  clew  in  regard  to  historical  events,  while  the  associa 
tion  of  ideas  of  which  they  are  the  expression  furnishes  most  valuable 
psychological  material. 


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